Baca, Arturo

Mr. Arturo Baca, 81, of Portales, died Thursday, June 16, 2005, at Roosevelt General Hospital in Portales.

He was born on June 8, 1924, in Eaton, Colo., to Petrita and Joe Baca.

He grew up in Encino. In June 1943 he entered the Army and served in northern France during World War II. Toward the end of the war he was a guard patrolman for POW camps in Utah. After being released in 1946, he returned to his home in Encino. In 1949 he moved to the Floyd community where he was employed on local farms. He married Emma Salguero on Nov. 25, 1949, in Santa Rosa. He was trained to work with sheet metal and worked on construction projects in various locations. He was a member of St. Helen Catholic Church.

Family members said he enjoyed fishing, hunting, camping in the mountains, and going to the casino in Ruidoso. He was a member of the VFW Post in Clovis, the Disabled American Veterans, and the Sheet Metal Worker’s Union.

He was preceded in death by his parents; a brother, Juan Baca; two sisters, Julia Bachicha and Socorro Tapia; and a daughter, Diana Rodriguez.